What are you listening to?
And songs to sing to
Hello,
Firstly, a huge thank you to all of the readers of TBOI. This little space on the interweb is one of my favourite things. I am really enjoying connecting with you all and after roughly six months here, I feel like I am getting into the groove with Substack.
And speaking of getting into the groove…
In other life, I would have been a musician, or I would have been better at sticking with my music lessons.
I played the drums in my teens, and even had my own kit at home. I then took up the guitar in my mid-20s. Both times I had lessons, and both times I quit when things started to feel a little hard.
However, one thing that I have done consistently is sing. Over the years, I have been a member of various choirs, a barbershop group (couldn’t help myself, so I had to include a Simpsons clip of the Be Sharps), and for the last few years when I was still living in the UK, I was a member of a Gilbert and Sullivan theatrical troupe.
🚨 Embarrassing Story Alert 🚨
Around the time that the Spice Girls were taking off in the UK in the mid-90s, I auditioned for a girl group with my then-best friend.
Most of the experience I have blocked from my memory, but from what I do remember, the audition took place in some dingy youth club (I think a lot of youth clubs in the mid-90s were a touch dingy) and my friend and I were the youngest there. We found the advert for the audition in the local paper, and my mum waited in the car as I wouldn’t allow her to accompany us inside. Yes, I was one of those grotty teenagers.
We had to sing a Spice Girls song because as you guessed it, they wanted the band to be ‘The Next Spice Girls!’ I chose to sing ‘Who Do You Think You Are’, and there was no backing track and no Googling the lyrics (pre-Internet days), so it was done a capella. The experience still makes me cringe but I am proud of my 13-year old self for having the guts to go through with it.
I still sing but this is in the safe confines of my apartment, although I have been investigating whether there might be a choir I could join in my area, and I am even considering taking some singing lessons (something that I have always wanted to do).
In the meantime, I have this reoccurring fantasy of what I would sing if I were to take those singing lessons and perform. And so this post is a dedication to some of the artists that I would love to even mildly emulate.
These are all songs and voices that remind me of younger times, happier times, sad ones, or even more challenging ones, but they evoke something in me that is difficult to explain. They just make me feel.
There’s a lot of exciting research exploring the links between our brains and the influence of music, and I am considering writing about this later as this post isn’t about the science, it’s about the music!
💬 I hope that you enjoy this and please add what you are currently listening to in the comments or in the chat 🎶
Zero 7 - Destiny (2002)
SOOOO hard to choose one song from Zero 7, but this has always been one of my favourites with beautiful vocals from Sia and Sophie Barker. The album Simple Things was one of my go-to CDs during university, and it is still on heavy rotation.
Skunk Anansie - Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good) (1996)
Ah 1996! I was in secondary school and living my best life as an insecure teen. The good old days. There were a few female artists that I channelled during this time, and the band Skunk Anansie were among them. Some of the others were: Alanis Morissette, and Shirley Manson from Garbage. Skin’s stunning vocals take me back, but it still sounds fresh today.
Florence + the Machine - Ship to Wreck (2015)
My husband was able to get to one of Florence Welsh’s early gigs in New York some years ago, and boy, I am still jealous! It’s hard to pick one song, but Ship to Wreck is one of the finest songs on an outstanding album: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.
And a personal plea, Florence - please come to Asia!
Brandon Flowers - Crossfire (2010)
I went to see The Killers in 2018 and it was one of the best gigs I have ever attended. Before and after the show, my husband and I were listening to everything Killers, but also revisited Brandon’s solo work. This song gives me goosebumps, and the video is pretty awesome too.
Whitney Houston - I Have Nothing (1993)
Where do you even start with Whitney? You can’t. So, I won’t even try to describe her music or her influence, but I will say that this is THE number one song that I sing regularly on my own and I swear that I sound almost 5% like her.
💬 What are you currently listening to? Or what do like to sing to - in private or public? Please let me know in the comments or in the chat 🎶
And I had to finish this post with my girl-band audition song…
And finally, if you would like to see this newsletter in your inbox on a regular basis, then please consider subscribing to TBOI by adding your email address to the link below. Also, if you like what you see here, it helps tremendously when you give the heart a squeeze, share the piece with one of your mates, or leave a comment (I read and reply to all - a great joy!). Thank you 😉
And here is a link to my growing playlist of ‘Songs to sing to’ that accompanies this post. I am not sure if this will work for those who don’t use Apple Music - sorry!
Take care,
Sarah
HUGE yes to Zero 7 and Hedonism! Both, to me, mean London, heartbreak and incredible happiness.
I would never subject the general public to my singing but a few weeks ago my husband and I did subject our children to a couple of hours of karaoke. They were not happy! Their mood picked up, though, when I sang the line, "You're so fucking special" in Radiohead's brilliant Creep. I was overjoyed, singing one of my all-time favourites, and the boys were happily scandalised by hearing their mother swear!
Thanks for the memories!
Aaaargh, so much good stuff here!
I still listen to Destiny loads and loads, and it's a favourite. Case in point, my last deliberate listen was two days ago. And I don't often single out specific songs.